3 Ingredient Banana Oat Pancakes

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These 3 Ingredient Banana Oat Pancakes are made with just three ingredients and require only three steps! They're soft, fluffy, and naturally sweetened with bananas. Top with caramelized bananas to make them extra special! Great for breakfast or brunch.

Pancake stack topped with banana slices on a small white plate with bananas and maple syrup in the background.

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Why This Recipe Works
Ingredients
Step-by-Step Instructions
Serving and Storing
FAQs
More Pancakes
📖 Recipe

Why This Recipe Works

The easiest pancakes - 3 ingredients and 3 steps are all you need to make these pancakes! It really couldn't get easier. Elaborate pancake recipes are fun but sometimes you just need a quick and simple, but still really good, breakfast. Enter these banana pancakes!

The perfect batter - Nobody likes pancakes that make a mess and are hard to flip. The batter for these is more on the thicker side and once you form your pancakes on the pan and they set on the bottom, they're really easy to flip!

Naturally sweet - The main star in these pancakes are ripe bananas. They add natural sweetness and moisture to the pancakes. They make the pancakes taste kind of like banana bread in pancake form, and who wouldn't want that, right?!

Easy to dress up - You can keep the recipe as simple as 3 ingredients or add more to spice them up. I like adding a touch of vanilla extract and ground cinnamon for extra flavor. Spices are your best friend here and if it's the holidays, feel free to add a good sprinkle of your favorite spice (apple pie, pumpkin pie, or gingerbread are all great!).

Maple syrup being poured over a stack of pancakes with banana slices on top.

Ingredients

Rolled oats - The oats will get blended into flour and it's important to use rolled oats here. Steel-cut oats won't work because they wouldn't blend well. Quick cooking oats can be used as well as long as they're just plain oats.
Eggs - This is the most important ingredient because it helps bind everything together. I always choose large eggs.
Bananas - You want them to be ripe just like those for making banana bread. The riper the bananas are, the easier they will be to mash.
Add-ins: You can keep the pancakes simple or add more to dress them up. Add ground cinnamon, vanilla extract, or your favorite spices. I like seasonal ones like apple or pumpkin spice, or gingerbread! You can also add some cacao powder or chocolate chips to make the pancakes chocolate flavored.

Two bananas, rolled oats in a bowl, and eggs in an egg carton on a grey background.

Step-by-Step Instructions

These are probably the easiest pancakes you can make! Not only are there just three ingredients, but there are also only three steps! Plus, if you have oat flour instead of plain rolled oats, you can skip the first step. Talk about a simple breakfast!

Rolled oats in a blender before and after blending into flour.

Homemade Oat Flour

You can use store-bought oat flour but I like making my own since I always have oats on hand and they last longer in the pantry than oat flour does. I also prefer the coarser texture of blended oats in these pancakes.

Simply add your oats into a high-speed blender or a food processor and process on high until they turn into a coarse flour. It doesn't have to be perfect. You might have to pick it up and shake it a couple of times to get it to blend properly.

Batter

To make the batter, add ripe bananas to a large bowl and mash them using a fork. If they're very ripe, this should be easy to do.
Add the eggs and whisk them with the bananas until well combined.
Add the oat flour and whisk it in until just combined.
Set the batter aside to rest for 10 minutes to allow the oats to soak and the batter to thicken.

Cooking the pancakes

To make the pancakes, heat a large pan over medium heat. When hot, add butter or cooking oil (I usually use butter or a mix of the two to prevent the butter from burning too much).
When the butter melts, form the pancakes using 2-3 tablespoons of the batter per pancake. Be sure not to overcrowd your pan because it will make flipping them harder. Cook for 2-3 minutes on one side, flip and cook for 2-3 more minutes. You'll know they're ready to flip when the edges start to set and they're easy to pick up with a spatula.
Repeat with the rest of the batter and add more butter as needed. If you notice your butter burning too much, use a paper towel to carefully wipe the pan and add fresh butter.

Keep your pancakes warm: Preheat your oven to 210F (100C). Keep your pancakes in the oven on a baking sheet in a single layer while you finish cooking the rest of them. This will keep them warm until you're ready to eat!

Pancakes cooking on a large steel pan with butter.

Serving and Storing

You can keep the toppings just as simple as the pancakes or you can dress them up. The classics are maple syrup, banana slices, and some butter.

I usually like to top them with fresh berries or if I only have frozen ones, I simmer them with some maple syrup in a saucepan on the stove for a few minutes to turn them into a hot berry sauce. You can use that instead of plain maple syrup. Other great toppings are nut butter, yogurt, caramelized banana, stewed apples or peaches, or just about anything else you like on your pancakes!

Storing

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days or in the freezer for 2-3 months when frozen properly. You can wrap them in foil before placing them in a freezer-safe container to further prevent freezer burn.

To reheat them, simply pop them into a toaster with the defrost setting on. You can also reheat them in the oven at 350F until heated through.

A knife cutting into a pancake stack and a fork picking up the slices and showing the inside of the pancakes.

FAQs

Can I make these pancakes vegan?

I haven't tried but you can try using flax egg. Since the batter only has 3 ingredients, the eggs are vital for keeping the pancakes from falling apart. You might have to add more oats and they may not rise as much without baking powder.

Are the pancakes gluten-free?

Oats are naturally gluten-free. To make sure they didn't come in contact with any gluten, always choose certified gluten-free when shopping for your oats.

Can I use apple sauce instead of the banana?

Yes, the pancakes should work just as well with apple sauce.

Can I freeze the pancakes?

Yes, these are freezer friendly. They won't be as fluffy after defrosting but they freeze well. Store them in an airtight container and pop them into the toaster to defrost and reheat. You can also reheat them in the oven at 350F.

A fork holding up a slice from a pancake stack showing the inside being soft and fluffy.

More Pancakes

If you're looking for more pancakes, definitely check out the four recipes linked below. They're not as simple as these banana pancakes but they're really delicious and all can be made gluten-free. The apple ring and peach pancakes are both my favorites! To see all the latest pancake recipes, head over to the Pancakes and Waffles category.

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